Three Diamond Bears Named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team

ST. LOUIS – Olivia Krehbiel, Mackenzie Chacon and McKenzie Vaughan of Missouri State softball were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, the league announced today.
 
Krehbiel earns the first MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honor of her career after being named an honorable mention selection twice previously. The senior is a two-time NFCA Scholar-Athlete selection, two-time recipient of the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and three-time member of the MVC Honor Roll. She also collected the MVC President’s Council Academic Award in 2021-22. On the field, Krehbiel is a three-time All-MVC selection and was named to the NFCA All-Region Second Team in 2021. She currently owns a 3.84 graduate grade point average as she pursues a Master’s in Business Administration.
 
The Lee’s Summit, Mo., native sits in second place all-time in MSU history with 23 home runs, as she sits just five homers short of breaking the record. Krehbiel played in all but one game for the Bears this season and set a single-game career high with six RBI against South Dakota St. on February 25, which included her third career grand slam as she became just the third Bear in program history to accomplish the feat in their careers. She led Missouri State in hits (45), doubles (12), RBI (34) and walks (26) this season.
 
Chacon earns MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors for the first time in her career as a sophomore. Previously, she was named a 2022 NFCA Scholar-Athlete and was a member of the MVC Honor Roll in 2021-22. The Oologah, Okla., native owns a 4.00 GPA as she pursues a degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
 
The lefty pitcher paced the Bear pitching staff this season with a team-leading 1.92 earned run average in 84 innings of work. Chacon owned a 10-3 record in the circle, marking the second-most wins on the team, while tossing four complete games and striking out 53 batters on the year. She also owned a .323 batting average, collecting 31 at-bats on the season with a double and six RBI.
 
Vaughan also collects MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors for the first time as a sophomore. She was a 2022 NFCA Scholar-Athlete and was named to the MVC Honor Roll last season. The Bella Vista, Ark., native owns a 3.94 GPA while pursuing a degree in Exercise & Movement Science.
 
The dual threat was named first-team All-MVC for the first time in her career after leading MSU in home runs (14), average (.318), slugging percentage (.748), hit by pitches (9) and on-base percentage (.452). Vaughan broke the MSU single-season home run and slugging percentage records, while being the only player in The Valley to win both MVC Player and Pitcher of the Week in 2023. She is now tied for seventh in MSU career history with 19 homers.
 
All three Bears were also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team earlier today.
 
The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CSC standards for the Academic All-America voting. Nominees must have played at least 75-percent of a team’s games, must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing and must carry at least a 3.50 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Student-athletes must also have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.